Grass Cut Thin
"Grass Cut Thin" is the 8th episode of Once Upon a Virus. Summary As Justine is rushed through hospital, Josh begins to blame himself for her accident, regretting pushing her into a situation she wasn't comfortable with. Meanwhile, Rena is distraught when he finds out what's happened and plans to pay who he thinks is his true love a visit. And in the Wikia world that was, The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors has big plans for himself. Plot A heavily injured Justine is seen being rushed through hospital by a team of doctors and nurses, who go on to prep her for surgery. One of the nurses disperses and heads to the nurses' station, where Joanna is standing, watching all of this as it happens. "Hey, do you know who Justine King's in case of emergency person is?" the nurse asks, and Joanna nods, replying, "Her father." Reginafan2626 is seen cutting grass in flashback with his scythe; he is dressed poorly and looks younger and more unkempt than we've ever seen him before. Soon, the two Bureaucrats of the Once Upon a Time Wiki – DocMD and Trae209 – stroll pass and summon their gardener to their side. Reginafan goes to them, and ask them what's wrong. DocMD asks him his name, and Reginafan replies, "The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors, your majesty. I've… worked here for the last six years." "A bit wordy, isn't it?" Doc asks, "Could I simply address you as Night?" "Yes," he says, "As I've told you every time we've talked… ever." She scoffs, saying she hardly remembers her interactions with the help; "Now drop the insolence, if you please." "Yes, your majesty," Night obeys, "What can I do for you?" "You missed a large patch of grass over there," she points, "It made our afternoon stroll positively ghastly. Now, if you don't mind, go fix it. We tend not to keep around people who aren't good at their jobs." "Of course," Night says, smiling fakely, "Enjoy your stroll." "Thank you," says Trae, but Doc raises a hand to her husband, telling him not to bother. The two Bureaucrats continue on and Night rolls his eyes, making his way to the patch of grass to which they were referring (which is actually rather small). He begins swiping at it with his scythe, and asks a nearby Chat Moderator why the Bureaucrats always act like he's just shoved his scythe up their backsides. "Nah, you gotta cut them some slack; their son's really sick," the Chat Mod points out. "Reginafan2626 has always been sick," Night points out, "The kingdom's never even seen their little Admin. They should just give up hope now and let him die before it gets more painful." The Chat Mod hears this and tells Night, "Try saying that when you have kids of your own." Night shrugs and continues swinging his side, thinly cutting any grass which gets in the way of the sharpened blade. Josh is seen entering the hospital and immediately asks the nurse from earlier where his daughter is. "Sir," she says, "Justine is currently in surgery. She had a number of broken bones and a ruptured lung." "Well… is she gonna be okay?" the Mayor demands, to which the nurse says, "Right now, I'm afraid all we can do is hope for the best." Josh nods and turns his head, spotting Joanna smiling at the nurses' station. She quickly covers her face with a clipboard and disappears round the corner. Joe and Liz are seen entering the former's apartment, laughing with one another. "Where have you guys been?" Rena asks, seeming hysteric; and Joe explains that the two of them had such a good time at the wedding reception – "Although, I guess it was only really a party" – that they went to a club downtown for a couple of drinks. "You mean… you haven't heard what happened?" Rena asks, and Liz proceeds to ask him what the matter is. Rena explains that Justine's in the hospital after having been in a serious car accident, and Liz and Joe appear shocked. "Is she gonna be okay?" Joe wonders, but Rena shrugs, saying he doesn't know; "I can't go down there after what happened… the Mayor would slaughter me on sight." "That's true," Joe nods, "So… why don't I go down there for you and see what the deal is? Then I can call you up and tell you." "You'd do that?" Rena asks, and Joe nods, saying, "Of course; I'll be back soon." He leaves, shutting the door behind him, and Liz stays behind to comfort Rena. Back in hospital, Josh sits at Justine's bedside after her surgery as the blonde remains unconscious. Joanna then walks in and tells the Mayor, "The doctors don't know when she might come out of the coma; could be tomorrow, could be in a year." Josh nods, saying he's already heard all that, but doesn't take his eyes off his daughter. He then asks Joanna what she's doing there. The redhead smiles and explains, "I'm here to make sure you've figured it out." "Figured what out?" Josh wonders, and Joanna takes relish in telling him, "You're the reason behind this. It was the Virus you enacted that caused her car to crash – it's designed to keep people in. So this could all be counted as your fault even if you hadn't forced her into a wedding she wanted no part in." This urges Josh to stand up angrily and square up to the nurse, drawing himself up to his full height. "Go ahead," Joanna tells him, "Hurting me won't wake your daughter up – but your pain over that, well, that will provide me with great joy." Josh looks down at her and simply says, "Leave." Joanna tuts and asks him, "How did you become so rude?" In flashback, Night is seen trimming the palace hedges with a rather large pair of shears when, suddenly, he hears the sound of screaming. He follows the noise along the hedge and soon realizes it's coming from a huge Venus flytrap hiding in the bushes. From within it Night sees a glow, and he quickly uses the sheers to cut off the plant's head. It falls to the floor and opens up, revealing a small blonde fairy dressed in green to have been inside. She flies up and makes herself grow to Night's size, tucking her wings behind her back as she does so. "Why did you have to kill the plant?!" she exclaims, but Night is still amazed by her, asking in turn, "Are you… a member of Staff?" "That poor flytrap was an innocent life," she says, bending down to stroke its dead top."It was… about to kill you," Night points out, and the fairy nods, "But still… it's a sad loss." She then stands up and extends her arm, introducing herself as Trellar of the Community Wiki. "So you are Staff?" Night asks again, and Trellar nods. Night apologizes for the plant, but she assures him it's okay; "Like you said, it was about to kill me. I guess that means you saved my life… I owe you." Night smiles, and introduces himself, "I'm The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors… but you can call me Night." "It's nice to make your acquaintance," Trellar says, but as she looks at him, she recognizes something. "No way…" she utters. She quickly plucks a hair from his head and produces a flask of clear liquid in her hand with magic. She places the hair inside and it soon glows purple, "Oh, my God… it's true." "Um… what's true?" Night wonders, rubbing the spot on his head from which the hair was plucked. "You are descended from one of the two most powerfully magical bloodlines in history," she explains, and Night looks shocked, not believing it. "I'm just a gardener," he points out, but Trellar assures him he's much more than that; she holds up the bottle and tells him that her magic never lies. "How would you like to do it?" she then asks. "Do what?" "Magic, of course," she tells him, "That could be how I repay you for rescuing me. I could tutor you in the art." Night raises an intrigued eyebrow. Josh's eyebrow is raised as he sits in Justine's room at the hospital and reaches for his cell phone. He closes the room's blinds and shuts the door so no doctors or nurses see or hear him, and he proceeds to dial. "Hello, Valentina? I need you to meet me at Storywik General. And… I need you to bring something." Meanwhile, Joe enters the hospital and comes across Natalia trying and failing to retrieve coffee from a machine. He approaches and wonders what she's doing there, to which she reminds him that she and Justine were good friends back in the Once Upon a Time Wiki. "Right," Joe nods, "What exactly happened to her?" "She's just gone through surgery where they reset a couple of broken bones and patched up a ruptured lung. She's currently in a coma and they don't know when she's gonna wake up." "But, she's okay? She's gonna live?" Joe makes sure, and Natalia nods. "I better call Rena," Joe says, going for his cell phone, but Natalia points at a nearby sign which tells him cell phones aren't allowed. He slips it back into his pocket and suggests going outside then; "You look as though you could do with some fresh air." Natalia nods, smiling, and the two of them make their way through the halls together. Outside, Valentina approaches Josh with something in her hand and wonders why she had to bring his skeleton keys to the hospital. "Because we're not staying at the hospital," Josh tells her, grabbing his keys, "Did you drive here?" "Yeah, why? Where are we going?" As they walk to her car, Josh tells his PA, "We need to pay a little visit to my vault." Back in time, Trellar is seen handing Night a small, glass flask containing odd-looking leaves. "What are these for?... And what are they?" "Well, I figured teaching you magic isn't really a substantial gift, so… I got you a little something extra," she explains. "Oh… thanks. And again, what are these exactly?" "Chewing on one of those leaves will save your life if your inches away from death. I grew them myself. They're very rich in magical properties, I was very lucky that I was able to produce those. A dying breed of plant, sadly, so… be sure not to waste them." "Thank you, Trellar," Night says, smiling, and she smiles in turn, saying he's perfectly welcome. "So, what's on the agenda for today?" Night wonders, and Trellar tells him that she's going to be teaching him how to master the element of fire. Night smiles and tells her that he's been practicing already, proceeding to produce a fireball in the palm of his hand. "Very good, Night!" Trellar exclaims, "You really are a natural at magic." The gardener smiles, making a fist to extinguish the flames. Josh and Valentina are seen approaching the same ruined bakery in which Justine was held hostage in a long while ago. They go into the field behind it and walk up to the old storm cellar which is wrought with many padlocks and chains, keeping it inaccessible to the public. Josh takes the keys and uses certain ones to unlock the precautions, finally getting the door open after relinquishing seven padlocks. He begins to head inside, and Valentina starts following him, leading the Mayor to ask what it is she's doing. "I'm coming with you," she says, but Josh smiles and assures her, "It's in your best interest to stay here." "Why?" Val wonders, "When are you gonna tell me what's down there?" "One day," Josh tells her, "Perhaps. But for now, stay put. Is that clear?" "Yes," Valentina sighs, looking annoyed as she sits down on the grass with her arms folded. Josh proceeds down the steps, shutting the storm cellar door behind him, and ends up in a rather shabby-looking underground room. Cobwebs and dust cover every discernible surface, but the Mayor bends down and taps a particular part of the floor with his hand, causing a symbol from a magical language to light up and reveal a door in the floor. Josh opens it and heads down yet another flight of stairs, ending up in a much more extensive room which contains a wide range of magical ingredients, brought by him to Our World from the Wikia world that was. He rummages through his many items of power until finally he comes across the small flask of leaves given to him by Trellar. He looks down at them with a smile and says to himself, "Don't worry, Justine… daddy's gonna take care of you." Trellar and Night are seen in another training session in flashback as the former tells her student what an amazing magician he's become during their time together; "I daresay you're even more skilled than me… I have nothing left to teach you." "Thank you for all the help you've given me," Night says, giving the fairy a hug before she bids him goodbye, turns small and flies away. Night watches her with a smile as he goes, and proceeds to get back to work. We see him cutting grass with his scythe when he's tapped on the shoulder by Trae209. Night turns to the Bureaucrat, seeing that DocMD is stood on a nearby pathway looking evil, and Trae tells the gardener that he's fired. "W-what?" Night asks, and Trae explains that the palace gardens have been looking dreadful for months; "You've clearly been neglecting your job." Night realizes that this is because of all the training sessions with Trellar he undertook, and tries to explain, but Trae accepts no excuses, telling his now former employee to be off the palace premises within the hour. He then retreats back to his wife, who gives Night a smug smile before the two of them walk away. Night watches them leave with a scowl on his face, and turns to the massive scythe in his hand. Josh is seen sitting in the passenger seat of Valentina's car with the flask of leaves hidden away in his pocket. She tries asking him what he retrieved from his vault, clearly interested, but the Mayor simply tells her to keep driving and she'll probably find out soon enough. "All that matters is that Justine's gonna be okay." The car continues to the hospital. Round the back of the hospital, Joe and Natalia are seen strolling through a garden-like area, exchanging small talk. "So, um, what exactly were you gonna do when you got to the end of the aisle?" Joe is heard saying, "Were you just gonna, like, marry Ben?" Natalia laughs and explains that she hadn't thought it all the way through; "All I was trying to do was buy Justine some time to get away." She then sighs with sadness, adding, "It's my fault she crashed her car." "No," Joe assures her, "You couldn't have known when you let her leave that she'd end up crashing." "Yes, I could've," Natalia says, "I could have guessed she'd try to leave town and I know what happens when people do that." "Why? What happens?" Joe wonders, to which Natalia replies, "Bad things. It's an effect of the Virus." Joe rolls his eyes and tells his friend, "A woman is in critical condition… can you not?" This makes Natalia very angry and she tells Joe, "Yeah? Well if you don't start taking me seriously soon, we're all going to be in critical condition. And if you don't step up when the time comes… we're all going to die!" She storms away in a huff and Joe looks disappointed. Ben is seen entering Justine's room as she lies there; completely unaware to anything that's happening around her. He pulls up a chair and sits at her bedside, placing his hand on hers and apologizing for what's happened. "When you get better… I'm going to propose again… and if you say yes… I promise that I will spend the rest of my life trying my best to make you the happiest woman alive… because I will be the happiest man… just… please do live. I love you, Justine," he then stands up off the chair and kisses her gently on the forehead, proceeding to leave the room with tears in her eyes. When he's gone, Renato Smith is seen emerging from a hallway and entering the beautiful blonde's room. He sits down in the chair that Ben was sitting on and stares at his true love's unmoving face. Tears immediately begin welling up in his eyes, and he begins talking to the comatose Mayoress. "I wasn't gonna risk coming, but… when Joe called, I just had to see you." He places his hand on hers and continues, "I love you… and I know that's ridiculous, because we've barely ever talked, but… I really, truly love you. When I look at you, it's like nothing I've ever felt before. When I see your face… it's like… there's never anything I ever want to see in my whole life. Not like this, of course… I can't stand seeing you like this. If… if you… you know… I don't know if I'd have the strength to carry on. It's… it's like… like you're a part of me, and if you go, then…" He struggles to continue, trying his best to fight back some serious tears. He wipes his eyes and stands up, looking down at that beautiful blonde face and telling her that he loves her yet again. He feels drawn to her, and suddenly, he finds himself planting a small kiss on her pale lips. He begins walking away, but as he does so, a voice emanates from behind him. "I love you, too…" Justine says weakly, as though she's not fully there, but she is most definitely awake. Quickly, a shocked Rena begins calling for a doctor, and a team of medical professionals – including Joanna – soon rush into the room in order to tend to the ill blonde. Rena watches as it looks like the woman he's head over heels for is going to be okay, but suddenly, Josh approaches with a flask of leaves in his hand. He looks through the room's window to see that his daughter's alright, but then he looks to the joyous bartender. He stares at Rena with pure hatred in his eyes. The same look Night has as he looks down at the dead Bureaucrats in front of him, sitting at their lavish feast of a breakfast. DocMD's body remains firmly seated, as though it doesn't mind not having a head. Meanwhile, her head continues rolling across the floor, going past Night's feet as he struggles to dislodge his scythe from Trae209's back; the Bureaucrat's head is face-down in his food. Suddenly, a green fairy flies through the window and Trellar makes herself big. "Night! I sensed a serious dark energy—" She then takes a look at what's happened in front of her, and her face drops in shock. "How could you do such a thing?" she finds herself asking, and Night takes a break from trying to dislodge his scythe in order to reply, "When you spend your entire life being demeaned and abused… you'd be amazed how easy it is to do that to other people." "I'll have to report this, Night…" Trellar utters, but her former student ignores her. "It's funny, I was going to use magic originally but… but then I teleported in and I saw them sitting there, living their luxuriant lifestyle… and I thought… people like this don't deserve such a quick demise. No. There's only one way in which people like this should be killed… and that's with a lot of blood and screaming." He continues trying to dislodge his scythe from Trae's back, but Trellar tells him, "You're under arrest for… for…" Night simply turns to her and laughs, reminding her that she taught him everything she knows; "And you were right… I am more skilled." With that, he freezes her to the spot the same way he did InspiredAndNatural, and he asks his fairy tutor if she remembers how they first met. "Night… Night, what are you doing?" She looks terrified. "You were trapped… and I saved you. I had to kill a Venus flytrap to do it, but hey…" he uses his magic to make the same pair of large garden shears appear in his hands in a whirl of black smoke, "That's what you do when something's a threat to you…" he approaches her menacingly, "You cut it out." With one snip, Trellar's head falls from her body, her blood spraying all over Night, and he watches sadly as her body crumples to the ground; much less dignified than Doc. He drops the shears on the floor and manages to dislodge his scythe with one pull upon walking past Trae. He then takes the Bureaucrat's crown and places it upon his own head; he looks at the blood soaked blade and he says to himself, "Now to take care of their son…" The people of the Once Upon a Time Wiki are seen gathered outside its palace as a sysop representative walks out on a stage. "Ladies and gentlemen… it is my deepest regret to inform you that our beloved Bureaucrats, DocMD and Trae209, are dead…" Everyone in the Wiki looks shocked, and after a while of grievance, the representative continues, "But, fortunately, I am also able to announce that their son, Reginafan2626, has made a full recovery, and he is now ready to take to the throne with the firm hand that this Wiki needs!" The crowd then cheers, and the representative adds, "Now, introducing our brand new Bureaucrat: Reginafan2626!" The crowd's cheers become louder, and Night steps out onto the stage. For the first time, he is dressed all in black with a scythe in one hand. He looks down at his sysop subjects and summons a ball of fire in his hand. They all look frightened of him, cowering slightly, and Reginafan smiles, extinguishing in the flames. "There are going to be big changes around here," he announced, "But probably not the ones you were all hoping for." He smiles callously, and in that moment, The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors is dead, and the Evil Bureaucrat is born. Category:Season 1 Category:Episodes Category:Reginafan2626-Centric